James Caan, who built a durable film career in varied roles across six decades but was forever identified most closely with one of his earliest characters, the quick-tempered Sonny Corleone in the original “Godfather” movie, died July 6. He was 82.

Prior to “The Godfather,” he had a role in “El Doraado,” a 1966 western, and “The Rain People,” a 1969 movie that was his first collaboration with the director Francis Ford Coppola. “Brian’s Song,” a made-for-television movie in 1971 brought him to the attention of a wider audience.

About “The Godfather,” he told Vanity Fair in 2004 that he won “Italian of the Year” twice, even though he was not Italian. He was Jewish. Made no difference he was so convincing as a mob guy.

He also turned to television., notably the series “Las Vegas,” in which he was seen from 2003 to 2007. Earlier, he appeared in “Dr. Kildare” and “Wagon Train.”

In “The Godfather,” he improvised some of his lines, including two words that he ushered into the vernacular. Sonny tells his brother Michael how hard it will be to kill the family’s enemies: “You gotta get up like this and — bada bing! — you blow their brains all over your nice Ivy League suit.”